Tommy McClennan - Cotton Pickin' Blues CD

Cotton Pickin' Blues buy CD music The giant left-handed guitarist was no stranger to the recording studio by 1966, but Albert King had still to make his mark with the record-buying public. When he linked up with the cream of Stax's Memphis musicians, including Booker T. And The MGs and the Memphis Horns, that connection was made. "Laundromat Blues", "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "Crosscut Saw" set the scene for "Born Under A Bad Sign" and "The Hunter", which quickly found their way into the repertoires of Cream and Free. The convolutions of his guitar style were perfectly complemented by the trademark Stax funk rhythms. The team went on to make many more singles and albums, none of which could surpass the achievements of their first meeting. Recorded at Stax Recording Studio, Memphis, Tennessee between March 1966 and June 1967. The Memphis Horns: Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love (horns). Personnel: Albert King (vocals, guitar); Steve Cropper (guitar); Joe Arnold, Andrew Love, The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson (horns); Isaac Hayes, Booker T. Jones (piano); Al Jackson, Jr. (drums). Audio Remasterer: George Horn. Liner Note Authors: Deanie Parker; Michael Point. Recording information: Stax Recording Studio, Memphis, TN (03/03/1966-06/09/1967). Photographer: Jim Marshall . Personnel includes: Albert King (vocals, guitar); Joe Arnold (horns); Isaac Hayes (piano). Booker T. & The MG's: Booker T. Jones (piano); Steve Cropper (guitar); Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass); Al Jackson, Jr. (drums).

Cotton Pickin' Blues CD music Recorded in Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California in 1966 and 1969. JOHNNY SHINES WITH BIG WALTER HORTON includes the balance of the songs from the 1966 session that yielded Shines' album MASTERS OF THE MODERN BLUES (Testament 5002), along with seven songs from a 1969 session. Calling an album one the best in this particular genre, Chicago blues, is a pretty big move. There are plenty of masters of this particular form, and the success of several different record companies recording the genre over the years has assured no shortage of material. Something just comes together splendidly on these sessions that elevates this album well above the level of even some of the great Chicago sides of artists such as Muddy Waters. It might not exude the timeless gold dust of such records, but at the same time has a raw energy and breathless courage that goes well beyond anything the Chess label got on tape in its studios. The sound is also richly thick and loaded with midrange overtones. This benefits not only bass sounds but the presence of the drummers as well. Outrageous drum breaks are one byproduct, and the listener might even sense the ensemble somehow about to topple before everything comes together at the slightest chicken scratch of Johnny Shines' electric guitar. Bringing that subject up: in the late '60s, this artist had yet to start developing his acoustic country blues phase and was playing the electric as if a concrete pick had been welded to his hand. One can only imagine an uptight recording engineer fussing with this sound, trying get something slicker and more professional. Thankfully, the recording teams in charge of this blues masterpiece don't indulge in the quiver, shiver, and shake mentality and just let the sounds go down, including this Shines guitar sound, which is almost more like a living creature scratching at the insides of the speaker box like a misdirected rodent. We are approaching guitar heaven, but it vaults over the gates with the appearance of Luther Allison, whose meaty, juicy tone is the perfect contrast for Shines. This album collects tracks from two different recording sessions a few years apart. Allison is present for only one of the sessions, but the harmonica genius Big Walter Horton is on both dates, flooding the bandstand with chordal cascades and even bringing a frightening edge to some cuts with distorted vocalese. This is not only a great blues record, it is a great party blues record. ~ Eugene Chadbourne /Big Walter Horton. Personnel: Johnny Shines (vocals, guitar); Big Walter Horton (vocals, harmonica); Luther Allison (guitar); Otis Spann (piano); Prince Candy, Lee Jackson (bass); Bill Brown, Fred Below (drums). Reissue producers: Frank Scott, Bruce Bromberg. Engineers: Bruce Bromberg, Frank Scott, Pete Welding (tracks 1, 3, 5, 8-9, 11-12); Pete Welding, Norman Dayron (tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 10). Personnel: Johnny Shines (vocals, guitar); Big Walter Horton (vocals, harmonica); Luther Allison (guitar); Otis Spann (piano); Fred Below, Bill Brown & His Brownies , Bill Brown (drums). Audio Remixer: Mark Linett. Recording information: Chicago, IL (06/1966-01/1969); Los Angeles, CA (06/1966-01/1969). Photographer: Brad Barrett.

Cotton Pickin' Blues songs Mississippi John Hurt's vocal and guitar style are always easy on the ears. Unlike a number of Delta stylists with their high-pitched voices and slashing slide guitars, Hurt's approach to country blues is immediately accessible. Recorded (for the most part) at Oberlin College in 1965, Live captures Hurt a couple of years after his rediscovery and one year before his death. He kicks off with several spirituals, including "I Shall Not Be Moved" and "Nearer My God to Thee." As Billy Altman points out in the liner notes, religious material was often excluded from studio recordings because no one believed it marketable. The remainder of Live consists of folk-blues, from "Salty Dog Blues" to "Coffee Blues" to "Ain't Nobody's Business." Hurt's finger-style guitar reminds one of Elizabeth Cotton and has more in common with the Piedmont players in general than those of his Mississippi home. Perhaps this connection helps explain why Hurt, who is considered primarily a bluesman, covered so many traditional folk songs. Indeed, the inclusion of songs like "C.C. Rider" also connects him to that other great straddler of folk and blues, Leadbelly. The last three tracks -- "Hop Joint," "Trouble, I've Had It All My Days," and "Spike Driver Blues" -- originate from the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 and fit in well with the other material. Fans will thank their Maker that Tom Hoskins traveled to Mississippi in 1963 to find out if Hurt was still among the living. Otherwise, excellent recordings like Live would've never been made. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Recorded at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio on April 15, 1965 and at the Newport Folk Festival Workshop, Newport, Rhode Island in 1965. Includes liner notes by Billy Altman.